By law and/or regulation, certain motor vehicles, such as school busses, are required to come to a stop ahead of a railroad crossing before proceeding across the crossing. In addition to stopping the vehicle, the driver typically takes certain actions in the interest of safety. Some of those actions may be mandated by law and/or regulations, and others may be voluntary.
A typical sequence of driver actions comprises operating a switch, commonly called a hazard warning switch, to begin flashing certain exterior lamps on the vehicle for alerting other vehicles in the vicinity that the vehicle is intending to slow down and stop at the crossing. When the driver steps on the brake pedal to apply the vehicle brakes, stop lamps at the rear will also illuminate. Sound emanating from certain on-board electrical accessory equipment that may be operating, (fans, blowers, and radios are examples) may be silenced by shutting off such equipment, or the sounds may at least be toned down by suitable attenuation such as reducing audio speaker volume and slowing fan or blower speed.
Once the vehicle has been brought to a complete stop, a front entrance and exit door at a side of the vehicle opposite the driver side is opened to allow the driver a less obstructed view in one direction along the railroad tracks. When the driver has determined that it is permissible to proceed across the tracks, he or she releases the brakes, re-closes the open door, turns off the hazard warning switch, and can restore desired operation of any accessory equipment that had been turned off or toned down.
For performing such a sequence of events, it has been necessary for a driver to operate several individual switches or controls in anticipation of a railroad crossing stop and then operate them again after the stop. Those actions require driver attention and add to the number of times that individual controls or switches are operated.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,395 B1 describes a programmable vehicle stopping system and process for route learning. The description includes the automation of certain vehicle functions that are performed in connection with stopping of a school bus to let students on or off.